(Fort Lauderdale) The big moment is coming. Lionel Messi is about to meet his new fans at Inter Miami.
An event called “The Unveiling” – or “La PresentaSíon” as the club calls it – will take place Sunday night at the team’s home stadium in Fort Lauderdale. It will be held a day after Messi, Major League Soccer and Inter Miami settled the final details of his contract, which will run until the end of the 2025 season.
It’s the start of a busy week for Messi with his new club. His first official training session is due on Tuesday and, if all goes according to plan, he will play in a League Cup match against Cruz Azul on Friday. Sergio Busquets is also set to make his Inter Miami debut in this fixture, as the Spanish midfielder officially signed his contract with the team on Sunday.
A press conference with Messi and the team’s management was scheduled for Monday, but it was canceled midday on Sunday, without explanation.
The Argentine world champion, a seven-time Ballon d’Or winner as the best player in the world for a given year, joins the club with the fewest points in MLS (18) and mired in an 11-game run winless (0-8-3).
Inter Miami CF started the season winning their first two games; since then it shows a record of 3-14-3.
The club has already announced that Messi’s contract will be for two and a half seasons and the Argentine will be paid between $50-60m per year, totaling $125-150m in cash.
“It’s great,” said Miami Dolphins quarterback Tua Tagovailoa last month when Messi announced he would be joining MLS and the Florida outfit.
“We have another superstar. Big names here in Miami. It’s good for the culture here. »
There have already been high-profile welcomes for stars who have settled in South Florida. In 2004, Shaquille O’Neal drove to the NBA’s Miami Heat arena in an 18-wheeler and waved to the crowd by launching water jets using a super -blower.
LeBron James and Chris Bosh were hosted by the Heat in 2010 at a party where around 14,000 tickets were claimed in two hours and where James said he wanted “not two, not three, not four, not five, not six, not seven” league titles.
This Heat team won two championships. Inter Miami need Messi to carry out a radical change, if only to hope to qualify for the playoffs this season.
If anyone can do it, it’s Messi.
“He’s the best soccer player to ever walk a field,” Heat guard Josh Richardson said.